The road to Ben Nevis Nov 2009

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Monday, 22 November 2010

So I was naive. Optimistic. Gullable. I read my email from the Events Coordinator with a dose of wishful thinking. When I receive a comment 'we should know if we have places soon' I realised something might be wrong with my assumptions. A letter arrived early this month to say "I am very sorry to tell you ...".

Placing on the standby list is 53. Indication is 30-40 may get placed eventually through drop-outs. So there's not much chance for next year!

As a teaser I have all the Rules, the Guidelines, a History, Route Planning Notes, and a complete list of participants. So I feel part of the club .. almost.

Sunday, 21 November 2010

I was so excited to find Inov-8's Terroc running shoes in our local Cotswold Camping store two years ago!

I had started some gentle running a couple of years earlier. Trying to keep off the road and paved surfaces to help preserve my old knees. I'd been buying trainers 'for off-road' from a nearby sports shoe specialist 'Lace-ups' and I generally found what I was given inadequate - poor grip on mud and wet grass, and before long the uppers would become detatched from the sole.

The Terroc sole looked terrific for grip, and the shoes seemed even lighter that those I was used to. So out came the wallet, and running became more rewarding. For a while.

11 months later this is how they looked!

Inov-8 Terroc 330 - pair #1 June 2009

They look over-used, but in fact this is a result of 20-25km a week on average or less. The holes developed at around 8 or 9 months and progressively got larger.

Of course I contact Inov-8. I emailed and emailed. I sent the pictures. And I never received a reply.

You expect the producer to take care of product quality, but it seems Inov-8 have a different policy. Cotswold should have some influence, but even for them - a reply to resolution took more than 3 months.

I convinced myself that the design had been modified and took a new pair last September expecting a longer life and better result.

Look at them now:-

Inov-8 Terroc 330 - pair #2 September 2010

Like the previous pair the problem developed after about 7 or 8 months so at 12 months they are unusable.

As last time I emailed Inov-8 asking for their advice. As last time no reply.

Are Inov-8 innocent of customer service? Do they care about their product in the market place? And what do they think about customer satisfaction?